Riley Sawchuk enjoyed his time with the Tri-City Americans but always lamented not being closer to home where his family could watch him play on a regular basis.

The 20-year-old Prince Albert, Sask., product will now get that opportunity, acquired by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the off-season and expected to be one of three designated overage players on the roster this year.

“So far it’s been unbelievable, it’s so much closer to home so my biggest thing is family being able to be here and come watch me,” Sawchuk said Wednesday prior to boarding a bus to Dawson Creek, B.C., where the Oil Kings will play two preseason games against the Prince George Cougars starting Thursday. “Even getting to go home and playing there is nice. So far, it seems like an unreal group of guys here and I’m really looking forward to getting things going and get this preseason over with. I’ve been treated so good here so far and the guys welcomed me so unbelievably. I think it’s going to be a great season.”

Sawchuk is going into his fourth and final WHL season, having been with Tri-City for the past three seasons. Sawchuk was selected in the sixth round of the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft by Tri-City and collected a career-high 20 goals and 53 points in 67 games with the Americans last season.

Sawchuck was acquired by the Oil Kings in May following their run to the WHL Eastern Conference final in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft.

“Personally, I had a tough start to the season last year, I didn’t get a ton of opportunity, but one guy ended up quitting on our team and that opened up a door for me getting a little more playing time,” he said. “I really knew I had to take my opportunity and I thought I took it well. I guess a few numbers showed.

“As a team I thought we were a strong team, we did well, we came up short in the playoffs and lost out in the first round, but we also had a good team going through there.”

The Americans, coached by former Edmonton Oilers captain and assistant coach Kelly Buchberger, lost in five games to the Everett Silvertips. Tri-City finished fourth in the U.S. Division standings and earned the first wild card spot into the playoff from the Western Conference.

Edmonton finished first in the Central Division and made it to the third round before losing to the eventual league champion Prince Albert Raiders in six games.

“We lost our three 20-year-olds from last year and they were a big part of our team, and 20-year-olds are a big part of junior hockey,” said Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer. “When we were looking at adding a 20-year-old, we don’t just grab anything. We’d like to think we did our homework and talked to a lot of teams and a lot of guys and his name kept coming up. He’s the type of guy that fills in a little bit of the (Andrew) Fyten leadership and the (Vince) Loschiavo goal scoring. He’s got a really good shot.”

As a veteran player Sawchuk is looking to bring leadership to the Oil Kings dressing room. While a year older, Edmonton still has a relatively young squad. The Oil Kings also need Sawchuk to help make up the difference lost by the graduation of the team’s top three scorers.

“I think in my years in the WHL, if you look at my stats, I haven’t shown a ton of numbers, but last year I think I proved I could put up a few points,” Sawchuk said. “I look to provide scoring and I want to have more of a physical game this year and I just want to be an all-around team guy to help this team succeed.”

So far Sawchuk has intergrated himself well in what became a tight group during last season’s playoff run. The Oil Kings ended a two-year playoff drought last season and won a playoff series for the first time since winning the Memorial Cup in 2014.

“I thought it was going to be harder coming in here,” Sawchuk said. “I knew one guy on this team coming in here, Parker Gavlas, and I kept texting him in the summer telling him that he has to introduce me to everyone. I was a bit nervous and stuff and I’ve come in here, I’ve been here for about 20 days and I feel like I’ve known these guys forever. I think it’s been really easy so far and it’s going to be a good year.”

Having raised the bar last season there are high expectations on the Oil Kings this year. The club is hoping to be a championship contender, which would suit Sawchuk well in his final year of junior.

“When I was in my first year in Tri-City all the older guys tell us not to take it for granted it actually flies by and I was 17 and thinking I had four years, whatever,” he said. “Now I can’t believe I just have one more year and one last shot, I just can’t believe it.”

Riley Sawchuk, 20, is too young to remember Kelly Buchberger as captain of the Edmonton Oilers, but did enjoy him as head coach of the Tri-City Americans.

Buchberger, a former Oilers assistant, took over the reins of the WHL club last season and led them to an 34-28-5-1 record and a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“It was good, he had a lot of coaching experience and he was really good with the guys,” Sawchuk said. “He knew how things went with younger teams and how it worked and we all loved him.”

Buchberger, 52, spent 17 seasons in the NHL before becoming a coach. He was an assistant with the Oilers for six seasons before moving on to the New York Islanders and then Tri-City.

“I knew of him, but didn’t really know too much about him,” Sawchuk said. “I’m from Prince Albert, so Dave Manson is from Prince Albert and I think they’re pretty good buddies and I’m good friends with Dave’s son. So we ended up talking and Dave was talking to him about me and things like that, so I kind of had an idea. I had never met him before, but I knew of him, so I think he had an idea who I was coming in from Dave.”